Misplaced
by Camaraderiee
Summary: Jim's organized, okay? He always has been, he probably always will be. Jim has color coded folders for his papers and lists upon lists of safety instructions. Except, Jim loses things. All. The. Time. It's not his fault this presents the perfect opportunity for Draal to flirt with him.
1. Misplaced

Jim's organized, okay? He always has been, he probably always will be. He takes care of people and makes sure they're okay and that they haven't forgotten anything and that they have spare jackets. And that requires organization. Jim has color coded folders for his papers and lists upon lists of directions.

Except, Jim loses things. All. The. Time.

Oh, he doesn't consider it "loosing" anything, of course. He prefers the term "misplaced." Which wasn't so much of a problem when the most expensive thing he and his mom could afford was a $200 television set. But when he's now put in charge of an amulet that carries the power to transform him into a Trollhunter, and possibly fuel the gateway between here and the Darklands? A little more concerning.

This is what races through Jim's head as he frantically shoves his arms under the living room couch to search for the amulet. Draal stood off to the side, leaning against the doorway to the kitchen with a smirk on his face.

"Did you lose the amulet yet again, Trollhunter?"

Jim spared a moment to shoot a scalding look in his direction. His mother was working a late shift at the hospital tonight, and would probably be gone all night. Which Draal somehow took to mean it was okay for him to come out and watch Jim scuttle around the house looking for the amulet. Jim could almost _hear_ the silent judgment coming from the troll.

"It's not _lost_ , Draal. Just…uh, misplaced."

Draal's smirk grew wider.

"Ah, I see. Have you checked all your usual places?"

This was not the first occasion Jim had mislaid his amulet somewhere. Previous incidents included places such as the laundry basket, his sock drawer, the left shoe in his closet, and, for some reason, the top shelf the fridge.

"Yes!" Jim snapped back, "Of course I did. I swear I had it an hour ago. I was just in training how could it have los-err, _misplaced_ it- so fast?" Jim stood up and quickly gave the room another desperate look over, before letting his arms fall limply to his sides and turning back to Draal.

"What am I gunna _do_ , Draal!" he moaned. "I know it'll reappear eventually, but who knows how long that will take! What if I need it soon? What if…I don't know, what if goblins come again!

"And yeah, I know it's too late at night for them to be out, but-" He suddenly cut off with a gasp as a thought hit him like a sledgehammer. "What if I haven't found it by the time Blinky and Aaarrrgghh get here?!" Jim's hands flew to his head, his fingers weaving into his hairline.

Draal tilted his head, amused.

"Draal, you don't understand. They're supposed to be here by 8 at the latest. The _latest,_ Draal! It's 7:30!" He covered his face with his hands and slouched his shoulders.

Draal forced himself to stop laughing. He'd been mostly silent throughout Jim's freak-out, but a chuckle or two still rumbled through him.

"Ah, young Trollhunter," Draal said as he approached the spot on the rug where Jim was standing, "there's still one place you haven't looked."

Jim lowered his hands and looked up at Draal's with an expression that would put a kicked puppy's to shame. Jim's eyes searched Draal's face for answers. Draal smiled and uncrossed his arms to reveal the Amulet of Daylight. The same amulet Jim had been looking for for about the last hour and a half.

Jim stared blankly at the amulet where it lay in the open palm of Draal's left hand, uncomprehending the sight in front of him.

After a moment, Jim found his voice. "You had it this whole time?" His eyes never leaving the blueish glow of the amulet, no matter how alluringly it illuminated the muscles and curves of Draal's stony arms.

Draal hummed in agreement.

"You had it…this _whole_ time," Draal's face threatened to split in two from the grin it bore, "and you just let me search the _entire dang house_." Jim reached out to snag the amulet from Draal's hand, but before he could, Draal closed his fingers over it and raised it above his head.

The heat emanating off Jim's face was almost tangible. He raised his eyes to glare into Draal's "Give me the amulet," he deadpanned.

Draal's head tilted to the side mockingly, "And what will you give me in return, Trollhunter?"

Jim scoffed. "How about in return I don't kick your butt when you give me my amulet back?"

Draal leaned further into Jim's personal space, forcing Jim to tilt his head almost completely up if he wanted to maintain eye contact. He watched Jim's eyebrows shoot up and his eyes widen. When they stood apart, they seemed almost equal in stature, but the difference between their two heights was much more obvious when they were this close to one another.

"What makes you think you could beat me, given how I've won every match to date?"

Jim may have been a bit intimidated by the enormous troll towering over him, but he wasn't one to back down easily. he schooled his expression into anger, or at least disgruntled discontent, before retorting.

"Except for that time I totally creamed you."

Draal narrowed his eyes and growled at the arrogance in Jim's voice. He shoved Jim back a little and started stalking towards him slowly, causing Jim to step backwards.

"And yet," Draal rumbled, forcing Jim closer to the wall with every step, "every time we've sparred, every time we've practiced and fought," Jim's back pressed up against the wall, "it's been you who has ended up on his back," Draal slammed his right arm against the wall next to Jim's head, "and I who has stood victorious above you." Draal mirrored his right arm with his left, caging Jim firmly against the wall on either side.

Jim swallowed thickly. He should not be this aroused by Draal's show of force. And yet, it was all he could think about. All thoughts of the amulet were long gone from Jim's mind. The only thing he could focus on was the feeling of Draal against him. He could feel the surprising heat from Draal's sturdy arms, despite the fact they were made of stone. He could feel Draal's large thighs, where they pushed against Jim's hips to force him upward against the wall. He could feel Draal's hot breath against his face, and he thought maybe if he could lean forward just a little, he could probably reach Draal's lips from here. He was only a couple inches away…

The front door slammed open in the other room. "Master Jim? Master Jim are you here? Tobias said your mother had left, so Aaarrgghh and I are here early."

Blinky.

Jim blinked a couple times, and pulled his head back. Draal straightened his back and stepped away from Jim, releasing him from the wall.

Jim angled his head up and saw Draal's frustrated expression He reached out and snatched the amulet out of Draal's unsuspecting hand and, before Draal could gather his bearings, Jim bolted out of the room.

Draal stood there for a moment, before letting out a soft snort in disbelief. He'd had Jim pressed against the wall, exactly where he's wanted him, unable to move and completely at his mercy. And yet he'd gotten away.

 _Well played, Trollhunter. Well played._

He would just have to wait until another practice where Jim would undoubtedly leave his amulet on the lawn again.

 _ **Whoa, been a while since I've published anything. Maybe one day I'll actually update my other works. This is a very short plot bunny.**_  
 _ **If you have a prompt you want to see filled, please tell me. Promise I would make it longer than this ;)**_


	2. Patience

If seen on the battlefield, one might think Jim impulsive, the way he parries and swings in a seemingly random pattern. But the truth is, Jim is extraordinarily patient. To have Tobias as a best friend, he kind of had to be. This patience came in handy when evaluating an opponent in a fight, or handling the chaos that is his mom's hospital schedule. Or, for instance, right now, where he stands plastered to the living room doorway, stealing frantic peeks around the corner to where Draal lay sprawled on the couch.

Draal was large enough that a good third of his back poked over the human-sized couch. Jim tried his best not to let his eyes roam the spikes that protruded from the expanse of smooth bluish-green stone. He tried not to trace each one in his mind, tried not to notice the strong base of the spike leading up to a sharp, chiseled tip.

 _Focus,_ he reprimanded himself. This was about revenge, not… not _ogling._

After the events of a few hours ago, when Draal had stolen his amulet and made Jim search the entire house, and taunted and _teased_ Jim about losing it. This was about getting revenge for Draal shoving him up the wall and holding him there with his immense body. And maybe, just maybe, it was also a little bit of revenge for Draal _not_ finishing what he started.

And so here Jim was, waiting for Draal to fall asleep. Aaarrgghh and Blinky had left a half hour ago, and Jim had left a slow blinking Draal on the couch by escaping into the kitchen under the pretense of washing dishes.

He'd only been waiting at the wall a short while, maybe 10 minutes, for – _ah, there it was._ Draal's snore was loud enough to rattle the house. The sound was akin two boulders rubbing against each other. But it provided Jim the perfect coverage to sneak over to the couch and crouch in front of the troll undetected.

Jim couldn't help the small chuckle that slipped through his clenched lips at the sight in front of him. From this side of the room, Jim could see that more than just the part of Draal's back that didn't fit in his mom's couch. Draal's horns jutted over the old, ragged armrest so far they were only scant inches from knocking over the side table lamp. On the other side of the couch, Draal's entire lower half hung off the armrest.

Yet somehow, the space in between those two points was even more crowded. Draal's left arm was shoved up underneath his chest in a valiant effort to conserve space. His right prosthetic arm had no such qualms. It lounged across Draal's broad chest and over the edge of the sofa, the perfectly sanded fingertips of the prosthetic brushing the floor.

Good. That would make Jim's mission to steal it that much easier.

Draal had taken Jim's amulet before, the thing that gave Jim the ability to even come remotely close to the same league as the trolls, so Jim would take Draal's arm as compensation. It was a fair trade. Well, okay, so maybe it was just the only thing Jim knew Draal would notice missing, but whatever. 'Fair trade-off' and all that.

Slowly, ever so slowly, Jim stood up from his crouch and reached his hand out to touch the place on Draal's shoulder where metal mixed with stone flesh.

The prosthetic arm was only connected to Draal's shoulder with a few leather straps. It would have been easy for Jim to unhook, if it weren't for the beautiful spikes in the way.

Draal's spikes were smattered all along his shoulders, and Jim couldn't help but marvel at the feel of them. They weren't chalky or rough, as Jim had expected. Instead, they felt almost like the silky inside of an oyster or sea shell. They rose and fell in tandem to Draal's breathing. Simply put, they were mesmerizing.

Which is probably why Jim didn't notice Draal shifting in his sleep, reaching out with his other arm and snagging Jim close to his chest, before rolling over onto his right side, effectively trapping Jim between him and the back of the sofa.

At first Jim hardly dared to even breathe. He was sure Draal had woken up and was about to let Jim have it. Jim hadn't really thought about what he would do if he got caught. He knew firsthand how fierce a fighter Draal was, and he did not want to be on the receiving end yet again.

Jim could have prayed to the troll spirits when he heard Draal's snores resume to their normal earsplitting volume, and could reaffirm Draal was in fact still asleep.

Then Jim's relief gave way to concern. He didn't know what to do. As nice as it felt for his face to be pressed up against the strong surface of Draal's chest, it was kind of suffocating him. He flailed his arms and gently kicked Draal's thighs enough that Draal grumbled in his sleep and rolled onto his back.

Jim desperately gulped down air and grimaced. Draal's spikes were probably going to leave holes in his mom's sofa. Whatever. Now he was on top of Draal's chest and at the perfect vantage point to start unstrapping the leather latches. Which he did with swift fingers.

He was on the last strap when he realized Draal's chest was no longer lifting him with the force of Draal's deep, sleepy breathes. Jim cringed and chanced a peek at Draal's face.

He jumped when green irises stared back at him less than a foot from his face. His thoughts muddled with surpside; when had his face gotten so close to Draal's? They were nearly touching. At some point in between undoing the straps and checking Draal's for any changes in consciousness, Jim had somehow missed his gravitation towards Draal's face.

It was only a few seconds later he realized he Draal's eyes were _open._

Jim watched as Draal's eyes glanced down impassively to where Jim sat snuggled on top of his chest, before following the lines of Jim's arms to where Jim was attempting to unstrap his prosthetic arm, before finally coming back to settle on Jim's face.

"Trollhunter."

Draal raised a single eyebrow.

Jim licked his lips and, without breaking eye contact, flicked open the final leather strap and leapt off Draal's chest.

Draal couldn't hide his amusement as Jim tripped over the edge of the couch and faceplanted on the carpet.

Once Jim had gathered his bearings, he looked up awkwardly to where Draal peered down at him from the couch.

"Jim," Draal inclined his head in greeting.

"I wasn't trying to wake you."

"Yes, I figured that."

They laid awkwardly like that for a moment. Draal finally broke the silence by clearing his throat and shooting a pointed look at his arm where it was still rested in the safety of Jim's.

Jim followed his sightline and flushed, before looking back at Draal.

"You took my amulet," he managed to choke out.

Draal sucked in a breath and shifted on the couch. Jim distractedly noted Draal was trying to stand up, but the process was slowed by his back spikes getting caught in the fabric. He winced a little as the couch fabric lost the battle.

"And so you took my arm," Draal retorted in a calm voice. Draal typically towered over Jim when they were both _standing._ But now that Jim was _laying on the floor_ ,Draal seemed larger than life. Jim barely came up to his knees.

"Yes," Draal continued, sarcasm colored his voice, "because that seems like a reasonable trade off." He leaned forward to further tower over Jim.

Jim _reacted._ He flipped himself over and frantically scrabbled away from Draal with only one elbow, the other still clutching his prize to his chest. The result looked remarkably similar to a three-legged dog running across ice.

Draal burst out laughing as he watched Jim make his frenzied, painstakingly clumsy way across the carpet. Draal wondered if Jim knew how endearing it made him when he was trying to be suave.

Draal reached down and snatched up Jim's leg. Jim grumbled in protest as he was lifted upside down and suspended in the air. Draal lifted him up high enough that they were nearly face to face, and had to laugh again at Jim's grumpy face.

"Trollhunter," Draal said in between peals of laughter, "you're no match for a troll without your amulet. Even with only one arm, I'm still stronger than you. Now," Draal stretched his right shoulder and wiggled his nub, "I want my other arm back."

Jim narrowed his eyes. He wanted nothing more than to wipe that condescending smirk off the troll's arrogant face. Stupid troll, always thinking he's superior to Jim. _Jim_ was the Trollhunter. It was his _job_ to take down trolls, and he was _good_ at it, darn it! Suddenly, an idea popped into his head.

He grinned wide and upside-down at Draal and flung the prosthetic across the room, where it bounced off the wall and landed on the floor with a _thud._

"Well, then you'd better go get it."

The smile dropped off Draal's face so fast that if Jim had blinked he would have missed it. The grip on his leg lightened as Draal growled.

Now, Draal was a large troll. And more than that, he was a nearly unparalleled warrior. He'd fought competitor after competitor and struck fear into the hearts of everyone he'd come up against. Trolls moved out of his way in the Trollmarket, whether because of his representation or his intimidating physic. So to say he was surprised when Jim completely ignored his warning growl and tried to _kick him in the face_ would be an understatement.

He held Jim further away from him and gave him an unimpressed look.

Jim was not deterred. He twisted in Draal's grip and finally wiggled out of his grasp. He shot towards the corner of the room where the arm lay, racing to beat Draal who was a hair width behind him. Nevertheless, Jim still beat him there.

Jim took a second to celebrate reaching the arm first, until Draal simply picked Jim up, slammed him against the wall, and ripped the prosthetic away from Jim.

Draal set Jim back on the ground again to secure his prosthetic, taking a few seconds to hook the straps back on, giving Jim a chance to appreciate the bold contrast of tarnished gold metal against aquamarine stone. Jim could never get enough of Draal's stone skin.

Draal secured the last latch and slowly raised his head to look at Jim with hooded eyes.

"What did you think, Trollhunter, huh?" He grasped Jim's hips and lifted him up the wall again. "Did you take me for a fool?"

Jim fought not to let Draal see the tremble in his hands where they grasped Draal's on his hips.

"No," Jim whispered.

"No?" Draal hummed, leaning his face in and resting it in the crook between Jim's neck and shoulder. "You just thought you could outsmart me, then. Is that it-" Draal drug his lips up Jim's neck to whisper in his ear, "-Jim?"

Jim lost his battle against the shivers; they wreaked up and down his spine and he could feel Draal smiling against the skin below his ear.

Draal continued in his seductive murmuring, "You think you're better than me?"

Jim finally turned his head and met Draal's eyes unflinchingly. He saw the challenge issued there, saw the fire and passion hidden below the surface.

"Well, yeah. _I_ beat _you,_ didn't I? Or did you forget?"

Never let it be said that Jim was one to back away from a challenge.

Rather than the frustration Jim had been expecting to see, Draal instead looked placated.

Draal smiled and shook his head fondly.

"Ah, Trollhunter," he said, "you'll regret bringing that up."

* * *

 _ **Please let me know of any spelling or grammar mistakes. And if anyone has an idea or opinion, I'd love to hear it :)**_


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